Picket fence

Picket fence
Picket Pick"et, n. [F. piquet, properly dim. of pique spear, pike. See {Pike}, and cf. {Piquet}.] 1. A stake sharpened or pointed, especially one used in fortification and encampments, to mark bounds and angles; or one used for tethering horses. [1913 Webster]

2. A pointed pale, used in marking fences. [1913 Webster]

3. [Probably so called from the picketing of the horses.] (Mil.) A detached body of troops serving to guard an army from surprise, and to oppose reconnoitering parties of the enemy; -- called also {outlying picket}. [1913 Webster]

4. By extension, men appointed by a trades union, or other labor organization, to intercept outsiders, and prevent them from working for employers with whom the organization is at variance. [Cant] [1913 Webster]

5. A military punishment, formerly resorted to, in which the offender was forced to stand with one foot on a pointed stake. [1913 Webster]

6. A game at cards. See {Piquet}. [1913 Webster]

{Inlying picket} (Mil.), a detachment of troops held in camp or quarters, detailed to march if called upon.

{Picket fence}, a fence made of pickets. See def. 2, above.

{Picket guard} (Mil.), a guard of horse and foot, always in readiness in case of alarm.

{Picket line}. (Mil.) (a) A position held and guarded by small bodies of men placed at intervals. (b) A rope to which horses are secured when groomed.

{Picketpin}, an iron pin for picketing horses. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • picket fence — picket ,fence noun count a fence made of thin flat boards that are pointed at the top. People think of picket fences as typical of houses in small middle class towns in the U.S …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • picket fence — picket fences N COUNT A picket fence is a fence made of pointed wooden sticks fixed into the ground, with pieces of wood nailed across them …   English dictionary

  • picket fence — picket .fence n AmE a fence made up of a line of strong pointed sticks that are fixed in the ground …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • picket fence — ☆ picket fence n. a fence made of upright pales or stakes …   English World dictionary

  • Picket fence — A picket fence is a variety of fence that has been used mostly for domestic boundaries. It is particularly popular in the United States, where the style has been used since the First Period, and remains popular in current times. Often the fence… …   Wikipedia

  • picket fence — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms picket fence : singular picket fence plural picket fences a fence made of thin flat boards that are pointed at the top. People think of picket fences as typical of houses in small middle class towns in the US …   English dictionary

  • picket fence — noun 1》 a wooden fence made of spaced uprights connected by two or more horizontal rails. 2》 [often as modifier] N. Amer. a picket fence as a symbol of middle class domesticity and contentment …   English new terms dictionary

  • picket fence — noun a fence made of upright pickets • Syn: ↑paling • Hypernyms: ↑fence, ↑fencing • Part Meronyms: ↑picket, ↑pale …   Useful english dictionary

  • picket fence — a fence consisting of pickets or pales nailed to horizontal stringers between upright posts. Also called paling, paling fence. [1790 1800, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • picket fence — pick′et fence′ n. cvb bui a fence consisting of pickets nailed to horizontal stringers between upright posts • Etymology: 1790–1800, amer …   From formal English to slang

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